Leadership is a quality that people need to learn. Whether you are aspiring to a business or management career, or want to be a leader in other aspects of your life, there is information in Gordon Tredgold’s new book. Leadership It’s a Marathon Not a Sprint covers many topics such as:

Gordon has worked in IT for over 20 years and is a specialist in Transformational Leadership, Operational Performance Improvement, Organisational Development, Creating Business Value via IT, and Program and Change Management.

Gordon has an excellent Global and International experience having lived and worked in UK, Belgium, Holland, Czech Republic, USA and Germany. He also has multi sector knowledge including FMCG, Logistics, Utilities, Telecoms, Aviation, Banking and Finance.

About – Leadership: It’s a Marathon Not a Sprint

Leadership: It’s a Marathon not Sprint, is a pragmatic Leadership guide, explaining leadership principles in an easy to use, easy to understand and more importantly easy implement style.

The book is split into 26 chapters, one for each mile of the marathon. In each chapter i explain a leadership principle in detail, provide examples of that principle being used in a business context, then each chapter concludes with how that principle was applied to my running goal of running my first Marathon at the age of 52.

This book will be of interest to existing leaders and people looking to move into leadership.

Clear, straightforward advice bases on the principles of Simplicity, Transparency and Focus.

Ponder Mission Alpha by Eugenia Oganova. Jeff from Ponder Central read Awakening the Harmony Within and was so enthusiastic about the book and the information Eugenia shared, that I asked if he would like to read Mission Alpha too. Mission Alpha is Oganova’s other book – which is a step beyond Awakening the Harmony Within and it is a must read for people who want to plunge into the topics on a far deeper level.

1. Why do you want to write a nonfiction book?

There are as many reasons to write a book as there are books. To establish your authority in a subject? To make money? To more deeply explore your field of interest?

When you know your topic and want to share what you know with others, a book is one of the best ways to do it. High-profile CEOs often write books to pass along their business philosophies and practices to the next generation of leaders in their organizations; to articulate their personal visions for their companies to significant stakeholders; or to apply the hard-won lessons of their lives to the broader context of business, society, academia, or government.

2. What’s holding you back from writing it?

Is it that writing a book is an overwhelming project? Perhaps you feel you wouldn’t even know where to begin? Or, is it that your plate is so full, you simply don’t have the time? You can overcome every one of these reasons!

All big projects seem overwhelming when you view them in their totality. Mountain climbers preparing to climb the Himalayas don’t expect to do it all in a single day. They have a plan, and they execute it a day at a time. More accurately, they do it one step at a time, and that is exactly how one writes a book.

Anything you do for the first time has an element of mystery, simply because you haven’t done it before, but a visit to any bookstore will clearly demonstrate how many thousands of people have solved the mystery.

3. Do you have what it takes to write a book?

First it takes desire.

Do you really want to write this book? You must be excited about your topic, and believe you can you keep that desire alive through every step of the process.

If you don’t have a clear idea of what your book is about, you are not ready to begin. A plan is like a road map for a trip. Don’t start out without one. This is where many first-time nonfiction authors go wrong. They have the romantic idea that one begins a book by sitting down at the computer and just “letting it flow.”

A nonfiction book takes planning and lots of it before you are ready to write a word. A book takes months to plan, research and write. You need a long attention span to stay interested from the moment you get the idea to the moment you are holding it in your hands. Self-discipline is doing what has to be done, sticking with it even when it’s not fun, and reasserting your commitment as many times as necessary.

Support & guidance from a writing coach, a good editor, a book on writing, or even a writing group can be the extra element that makes all the difference between going on and giving up.

4. How is your book unique, special, important?

There are probably many other books on your topic. You need to know what they are, how your book is different or better, what void in the market this book will fill, what problem it will help solve, how readers will benefit from reading it, and why anyone would buy it.

To find out this information, search around on amazon.com, Google or your favorite search engine, and, of course, real bookstores. Don’t be concerned if you find that your topic is not unique. In fact, you don’t want it to be unique. You want your book to be better.

5. What makes you uniquely qualified to write it?

If you are a bona fide expert, this will be easy to answer. Simply show how your credentials relate to the topic. Otherwise, consider your relationship to the subject matter. Why does it interest you? Is it a memoir or a personal recollection? An outgrowth of your education or work? A topic you have thoroughly researched? A philosophical or spiritual exploration? Why are you the best person to write it?

6. Who is your audience?

Don’t make the mistake of writing a book you think “everyone” will want to read. You must have a clear picture of your reader in mind. Build a profile. Is the book gender specific? Is it targeted to a certain age group, educational level, income bracket, or social class? What does your reader do for fun? What newspapers and magazine does he buy? What movies does she attend or rent? And, most important, how will that person benefit from your book?

7. How will you reach that audience?

Whatever publishing method you choose – conventional, print on demand, or self-publishing – you are going to be responsible for a large part, if not all, of the marketing and promotion. Promoting your book is partly art, partly science. The possibilities are as vast as your imagination.

Consider presenting lectures and workshops, sending out press releases and review copies prior to publication, writing magazine articles, arranging for book reviews, holding book signings, appearing on radio or TV talk shows, and launching a Web site or a blog. The more you do, the more books you will sell.

This article was shared in the BookBaby.com newsletter I got today — anyone interested in writing short stories should take a look at Kurt Vonnegut‘s tips….

In his book Bagombo Snuff Box, the famous post-war American novelist Kurt Vonnegut listed these eight rules for writing short fiction:

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.

2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.

3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.

4. Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.

5. Start as close to the end as possible.

6. Be a Sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.

7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.

8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To hell with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

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Like most rules, they’re made to be broken (as Vonnegut himself pointed out). But his writing tips may be useful as a starting point, or as a measuring stick with which to judge what you’ve already written.

What are your rules for writing short fiction? Do you disagree with any of Kurt Vonnegut’s advice? Let me know in the comments section below.